Valve for mining machines



Sept. 23, 1947. R. K. JEFFREY 2,427,859

VALVE FOR MINING MACHINES Original Filed Aug. 10, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheef 1 74 Q 25a, 75 j 256 Q 256 /NVEN7'OE, QOBEDT K.JEFFI2EY,

DECEASED, Br FLORENCE. H.C. JEFFREY,

-EXECL JTQIX, )7W

Sept. 23, 1947. R K. JEFFREY VALVE FOR MINING MACHINES Original Filed Aug. 10, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 HT; i m n :0 a /@Q H Dam E \FAFT FE w NY Z m fl K H /T E W M B m m Patented Sept. 23, 1947 VALV'E FOR MININ G MACHINES Robert K. Jefirey, deceased, late of Bexley, Ohio, by Florence H. C. Jeflrey, executrix, Bexley, Ohio, assignor, by mesne assignments, to The Jefirey Manufacturing Company, a corporation of Ohio Original application August 10, 1943, Serial No. 498,087. Divided and this application July 7, 1944, Serial No. 543,789

8 Claims.

This invention relates to a mining machine of the type which rests on and slides over the mine bottom and includes rope feeding mechanism, and one of the objects of the invention is the provision of an improved automatic suction selector for a hydraulic pump and although it is particularly adapted for use in an automatic hydraulic system of control of a mining machine of the type above mentioned, operating on steeply pitched mine veins, it may have a general application in some aspects of the invention.

Other objects of the invention will appear hereinafter, the novel features and combinations being set forth in the appended claims.

This application is a division of the co-pending application by the aforesaid Robert K. JelTrey, Serial No. 498,087, filed August 10, 1943, for an improvement in Mining machines.

In the accompanying drawings,

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a shortwall kerf-cutting mining machine to which the improvements are particularly adapted;

Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation of the automatic suction selector valve mechanism;

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic View showing a hydraulic pump connected to the suction selector;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged plan view of the left-hand portion of Fig. 3 with the cover plates removed; and

Fig. 5 is a sectional elevation taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4 looking in the direction of the arrows.

As shown in Fig. 1, the chain kerf-cutter l2 comprises a cutter bar It which is provided with the conventional endless cutter chain I! carrying picks or bits l8. The cutter chain H is driven from an electric motor carried by the main frame H of the mining machine under the cover plate 19 shown in Fig. 1. As indicated in this view and in Fig. 4, the armature shaft of the electric motor is connected to the pinion 20 which meshes with the gear 2| secured to the shaft 31 carrying the worm-22.

The worm .22 meshes with a worm gear 23 which is mounted on a roller bearing concentric with the vertical shaft .25, to the upper end of which is secured the clutch gear element 26.

The shaft 3'! (Fig. 4) which carries the worm 22 is connected to the hydraulic variable volume pump 64 for supplying hydraulic pressure to the hydraulic motors 65 and 66. The hydraulic motor 65 is connected to a shaft 4| carrying a worm 42 which meshes with a worm wheel. Said worm wheel is keyed to a shaft mounted in journal bearings .and secured to .a pinion which meshes 2 with an inner annular .gear of a rope drum 47. In a similar manner, the rope drum .48 on the opposite side of the machine is connected through worm gearing 49 to the hydraulic motor 66 for operation thereby. 1

For normal feeding operation of the kerf-cutter horizontally transversely of itself, a rope 50 is connected to and wound on the drum 4! to extend therefrom around the guide pulley .51, and the rope 52 is connected to and wound on the drum 48. to extend therefrom over the direction pulleys 53, 54. The ends of the ropes are connected to anchorages in the mine and as rope 52 is wound up the other rope 50 is paid out, under control of the hydraulic motors 65 and 65. For haulage purposes when the mining machine is -to be moved from place to place in the mine without effecting any feeding operation, the rope 50 may be extended around the direction pulleys 55 and 56 and its free end anchored in the mine distant from the machine. When the pulley 56 is not in use, its supporting arm may be moved to the vertical position shown in full lines in Fig. l and held there by a pivoted latch.

It will thus be seen that when the electric motor drives the chain cutter I2, is at the same time drives the shaft 31 which is connected to the variable volume pump 64. The shaft of this pump is adapted to have its outer extension connected to the shaft '3! so as to be in alinement therewith. It should be understood that when the kerf-cutter driving motor operates, the variable volume pump 64 will be driven but the volume of liquid delivered by this pump will vary from zero to a maximum according to the adjusted position of its swash plate.

Inasmuch as the Keri-cutting machine shown in Fig. l is of the shortwall type, the cutter bar is rigid with the supporting framework which is adapted to rest onand slide over the mine bottom while the chain cutter cuts a kerf at the base of the mine vein.

By referring to Fig. 4 it will be'seen that :the hydraulic motor 65 is operatively connected to the rope drum 47 and the hydraulic motor 65 is operatively connected to the rope drum 48. The feed rope 52 is wound on the rope drum 48 and extends to an anchorage extraneous to the machine. The retarding rope '50 is wound on the rope drum 4'! and extends to an anchorage extraneous to the machine. During the feeding of the kerf cutter, the main electric driving motor under the cover plate 19 drives the chain cutter l2 through the worm gearing 22, 23.

In further explanation of the purpose of the 3 supercharger pump 61 in the hydraulic system shown in Figs. 3 and 4, it should be understood that the inclusion of the supercharger pump will enable the system to be operated with a minimum quantity of oil because the same oil may be used repeatedly at high speeds and high pressures in the semi-closed circuit. Since the supercharging pump 61 replenishes the circuit to compensate for leakage, and supplies a surplus or oil which may be bled from the circuit, overheating of any oil is prevented, thereby maintaining a substantially constant working temperature within the closed circuit. That is to say, by providing the supercharging pump 61 of relatively low capacity, relatively cool oil may be taken from the sump or left-hand compartment under the plate 12 as viewed in Fig. 1, and supplied to the low pressure side of the closed circuit, to replace oil lost therefrom by leakage and also to displace the hot oil from the circuit back into the sump which serves as the source of supply.

The interior of the supporting frame ll back of the electric chain cutter driving motor is entirely closed by the cover plate 12 to form a sump for the oil used in the hydraulic control system. This sump i preferably divided by the partition 13 to form two compartments. This partition is provided with bottom openings 13 through which the oil may be free to flow from one compartment to the other, but the enclosure of such compartments is such that the oil can not escape therefrom during normal operation of the mining machine.

The operating parts in the forward compartment underneath the cover plate 12 may therefore run in oil and always receive thorough lubrication while the rear compartment may serve as the sump for the pump 61. That is to say, the worm gearing 22, 23, 42 and 49 may run in oil in one compartment and the other compartment may serve as the sump or source of supply for the automatic suction selector valve mechanism 14 shown in Figs. 2, 4 and 5 and diagrammatically in Fig. 3 in the hydraulic control system. This automatic suction selector valve mechanism is so arranged that, regardless of the tilt of the mining machine including the frame I I, oil will bedrawn into the pipe 15 by the supercharging pump 61. This supercharging pump is a gear pump designed so that the suction and pressure ports will respectively be the same irrespective of the direction of rotation of the pump.

Reverting to the automatic suction selector [4 shown in Fig. 2, it should be understood that the base 255 is secured to the mining machine frame and may be located in a depression in the bottom of the sump and provided with four intake or suction passageways, one of which is shown at 256 in Fig. 2. These passageways may be connected to suction pipes which radiate forwardly, laterally and rearwardly so that at least one of them will receive oil whether the mining machine is tilted either forwardly or rearwardly or in either direction laterally.

On top of the base 255 is mounted a casing or housing 251. By means of four cap screws, one of which is shown in Fig. 2 at 258, the casing 251 may be secured to the base 255 in such position that four passageways 259 will register with four ports 260. There are four of such passageways 259 and four of such ports 265 each in fixed position relative to the base 255.

J oumaled in the vertical tubular bearing or post 26 I is a tubular valve or sleeve 262 the lower end of which is pivoted by means of the ball, bearing 263 on top of the base 255. A weight 264 is secured to and carried by the upper open end of the valve 262. As the mining machine tilts, this weight swings to the lowest position it can find and thereby moves the port 265 in the tubular valve 262 into such position as to register with the port at the upper end of one of the passageways 259.

After the casing 251 has been secured to the base 255 by means of the cap screws 258, the cover plate 266 may be hermetically secured to such casing by means of the cap screws 266', to form a closed suction chamber 321.

It will thus be seen that the structure illustrated in Fig. 2 constitutes an automatic suction selector valve for automatically selecting the lowest part of the oil sump from which the oil is delivered to the hydraulic system regardless of the pitch or roll of the mining machine, while being fed over pitching and rolling mine bottoms.

The suction selector 14 may be secured to the bottom plate of the frame by welding the base 255 to such plate, as shown in Fig. 5. The intake pipes or suction ports 256 may radiate in various directions along the bottom of the sump as shown in Figs. 4 and 5. As the mining machine tilts to various positions in accordance with the pitch of the mine bottom, the oil will seek its lowest level in the sump. The weight 264 will be automatically shifted to a position directly above the port 256 connected with the oil at such lowest level. Irrespective of the degree or extent of tilting of the sump, the cover 266 will confine the weight 264 and the tubular valve 262 to enable the single valve port 265 to register with any one of the ports at the inner ends of the passageways 259. While the housing 251 forms a receptacle for oil, the hermetically sealed cover 266 co-operates with this receptacle to form a suction cup. Obviously, valve 262 and weight 265 are mounted for free rotation through 360 degrees or a complete revolution.

It should also be noted that the weight valve unit 262, 264 is entirely enclosed in the suction cup and is immersed in the oil therein. Consequently, the selection valve comprising the single port 265 and the plurality of ports at the inner ends of the passageways 259, is self-lubricating. Whichever passageway 259' is automatically selected, the oil flows upwardly through the tubular valve out of the upper open end thereof into the chamber 321 and thence out from the latter through the pipe 15 to the pump 61, as shown in Fig. 3.

Obviously those skilled in the art may make various changes in the details and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the claims hereto appended, and the invention therefore is not to be restricted to the precise construction herein disclosed.

Having thus described and shown an embodiment of the invention, what is desired to be secured by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A hydraulic suction selector comprising the combination with a support, of a housing secured to said support and having a hermetically sealed chamber therein, mechanism affording a plurality of suction passageways leading from the outer edge of said support into said housing, an upright tubular bearing within said housing and provided with a plurality of ports one for each of said passageways, an upright tubular valve open at its upper end in said chamber and journaled in said tubular bearing, said valve being provided with a single port adapted to register with any one of the ports in said tubular bearing, and an ofi'set weight secured to the upper end of said tubular valve, the construction and arrangement being such that when the said support is tilted to various angles relative to the horizontal the weight will automatically shift the port in the valve for selection of registration with one of the ports in said tubular bearing and thereby afiord a selection of that passageway which is in lowermost position at its intake end.

2. In a device of the class described, the combination with a receptacle having a passageway leading outwardly therefrom, of a cylindrical hearing within said receptacle and having a plurality of ports communicating with said passageway, a tubular valve journaled in said cylindrical bearing for rotation through 360 degrees and having a port adapted to register with a selected port in said cylindrical bearing, and an ofiset weight secured to said tubular valve and operable to swing it through 360 degrees to position the port in the said valve in accordance with tilting of said receptacle.

3. In a device of the class described, the combination with a receptacle having a passageway leading outwardly therefrom, of a cylindrical bearing within said receptacle, said bearing having at least three spaced ports communicating with said passageway, a tubular valve journaled in said cylindrical bearing and rotatable through 360 degrees, said valve having a port adapted to register with a selected one of said ports in said cylindrical bearing, gravity controlled mechanism connected to said valve to rotate the same automatically in accordance with the tilting of said receptacle, and an anti-friction bearing for supporting said valve in said bearing.

4. A suction selector for a hydraulic pump comprising the combination with a base having a plurality of suction passageways radiating outwardly to intake openings adapted to be placed in hydraulic liquid, of a housing mounted on said base and provided with a plurality of radiating passageways registering respectively with the passageways in said base, an upright cylindrical bearing in said housing, said bearing being provided with a plurality of ports at the inner ends of the passageways in said housing, a tubular valve journaled in said cylindrical bearing and provided with a single valve port adapted to register with the ports in said cylindrical bearing one after another, an anti-friction bearing for supporting the said tubular valve on said base, a weight connected to the upper end of said tubular valve in oiTset position, and a cover for hermetically sealing a chamber in said housing, the construction and arrangement being such that in accordance with the tilting of the base the weight will automatically shift the valve into such positions as to connect said single valve port to the intake opening in the base that occupies the lowest position.

5. In a suction selector for hydraulic pumps, the combination with a base having a plurality of radiating passageways, of a closed suction cup, mechanism for detachably securing said suction cup to said base, a cylindrical bearing in said cup, a tubular valve opening at one end into said cup and having a single port adapted to register with a plurality of ports in said bearing one after another, said ports in the bearing being at the inner ends of passageways in said cup registering respectively with the passageways in said base, and a weight connected to the open end of said tubular valve in oifset position in the closed chamber in said suction cup.

6. In a suction selector for hydraulic pumps, the combination with a suction cup having a removable cover, of means for detachably securing said cover to said cup, a cylindrical bearing in said cup, said bearing having a plurality of ports registering with ports at the inner ends of radiating passageways in said cup, a tubular valve opening at one end into said cup and having a single port adapted to register with the ports in said bearing one after another, and a weight connected to said tubular valve in offset position in the chamber in said cup.

'7. In a suction selector for hydraulic pumps, the combination with a receptacle having a plurality of radiating passageways extending in various directions to intake ports, a cylindrical hearing in said housing, said bearing having ports at the inner ends of said passageways, a valve journaled in said bearing and having a single port adapted to register with the ports in said bearing one after another, said valve having a passage therethrough from its port into said receptacle, a weight connected to said valve in ofiset position in said receptacle, and a cover for said receptacle in position to prevent movement of the valve port out of position for registry with any of the ports in said bearing.

8. A selector valve including a hollow post having peripherally spaced ports leading to the interior thereof, a valve sleeve journaled in said post and rotatable therein through 360 degrees, said sleeve having a single port therein adapted to communicate selectively with one of said post ports, means mounting said post and sleeve on a generally upright but inclinable axis, a weight on said sleeve adapted to rotate it so the weight is always in its lowest possible position and thereby determine what post port said sleeve port communicates with.

FLORENCE H. C. JEFFREY, Emecutriac of the Estate of Robert K. Jefirey,

Deceased.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,557,127 Wilkin Oct. 13, 1925 1,710,163 Hartney Apr. 23, 1929 1,026,884 Salmon May 21, 1912 1,845,136 Dieter Feb. 16, 1932 1,705,940 Moisant Mar. 19, 1929 2,168,496 Robison Aug. 8, 1939 2,239,098 Hunter Apr. 22, 1941 1,866,280 Woolson July 5, 1932 1,989,816 Meyer Feb. 5, 1935 1,639,255 Brackett Aug. 16, 1927 2,308,451 Lindgren Jan. 12, 1943 2,329,837 Jeffrey Sept. 21, 1943 

